To download all 37 songs in one file click here. MAP is published on the 15th of every month, featuring a showcase of music handpicked by bloggers from all over the world.

ARGENTINA: ZonaindieLos Coming Soon – No Way
This is one of our favorite releases from 2012. We Are Family is Los Coming Soon’s first album, in which they deploy 10 great songs filled with electronic textures and a soft, minimalist funky-disco base, all played with real instruments (no programming whatsoever). It was hard to pick one song for MAP, but we think No Way is representative of the whole record (you can buy it here).http://map.zonaindie.com.ar/LosComingSoon-NoWay(Argentina).mp3

CHILE: Super 45La Big Rabia – Nos Gusta Que Sea Así
Music abounds during times of crisis, and La Big Rabia is one of the symptoms of this social unrest we are living with in Chile. Their EP, La Bestia, and their shows begin with a disruptive speech made through a loudspeaker by singer Sebastián Orellana, a sort of tired and furious crooner. After this, a retro rock disposition is unleashed on songs like Para Todos Los Hijos De Puta, with its chorus: “Todos contra los poderosos / Todos contra los que tengan sed de poder” (“Everybody against the powerful ones / Everybody against those thirsty for power”).http://map.super45.cl/map-2012-07/La_Big_Rabia_-_Nos_Gusta_Que_Sea_Asi_-_Chile.mp3

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music BlogJosephine – Pray That I Move
Manchester’s Josephine Oniyama is not another soul girl, even though some early breathless accounts of her work and voice are of the “you won’t believe this isn’t a classic lost R&B or blues recording” variety. Actually, as Pray That I Move shows, Josephine’s vocal delivery and idiosyncratic lyrical vision have more in common with Morrissey than Mahalia Jackson. She’s already made a big stir on the regional scene with Elbow’s Guy Garvey and singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt among her champions. Her debut album, Portrait, is out on October 8.http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Music/Audio/2012/07/11/09PrayThatIMove.mp3

GREECE: MouxlalouloudaElectric Litany – Sad Part
Bleak and broody music has never been quite so thrilling. Sad Part is an elaborately orchestrated, inherently dark, minimalist, piano dirge, like a sad dream scented with rain, with searingly compelling lyrical imagery, eerie vocals full of intuitive swells and fades, pauses that embrace some of the pious silence of a prayer and tremolo guitars that do an excellent job of creating a beguiling atmosphere. Electric Litany’s highly anticipated sophomore album is set to be released later this year.http://map.super45.cl/map-2012-07/Electric_Litany_-_Sad_Part_-_Greece.mp3

IRELAND: Nialler9No Spill Blood – Good Company
Formed from members of Adebisi Shank, Elk, Magic Pockets and Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood’s first EP is released this month on Sargent House, home to Fang Island, Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Les Butcherettes. If you’re familiar with any of the bands mentioned then it won’t surprise you to hear that No Spill Blood play it fast and furious, running on the noxious interplay between drums, effect-laden synth, low-end bass fuzz and bellowed vocals.http://www.nialler9.com/mp3/No_Spill_Blood_-_Good_Company.mp3

ITALY: PolaroidCosmetic – La Fine Del Giorno
Cosmetic may sing in Italian but I’m sure their songs will speak to you anyway. Their rough and nervous shoegaze sound often drifts towards more muscular music as it makes way for an explosion of guitars. When I saw them live the first name that came to my mind was Dinosaur Jr. The motto on their Facebook page – “Noise and melodies that fight to get the better of each other” – pretty much sums up Cosmetic.http://www.polaroidallaradio.it/audio/Cosmetic_-_La_fine_del_giorno.mp3

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico IndieEl Medio – Hasta Caer
El Medio is the solo project of Leonardo Balasques (Oscilador 4, Balún). Since 2004, Balasques has used this outlet to release very personal songs about life, friendships and love. Using his bedroom (and subsequently his living room) as a recording studio, Leo has crafted an expansive discography that experiments with the confrontation of synths and traditional instruments to create a folk/pop hybrid that warms the heart and stimulates the brain. El Medio has just released the album No Le Tengas Miedo Al Amor, on which you’ll find Hasta Caer, featuring strings by Balún’s Angélica Negrón and an unexpected, yet much welcomed, dose of blistering guitar noise and distortion.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/476245/Music/MAP/El%20Medio%20-%20Hasta%20caer%20-%20(Puerto%20Rico).mp3

SCOTLAND: The Pop CopHoly Esque – Rose
There’s a tangible buzz about the Glasgow music scene right now and part of that has to do with the emergence of Holy Esque. There’s a dark magic about their sound. The rasping, quivering vocals of Pat Hynes calls to mind The Undertones or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, while the squalls of guitar elicit comparisons with Joy Division or Glasvegas. The anthemic Rose, a MAP exclusive free download, is taken from their excellent debut EP.http://thepopcop.co.uk/music/Holy-Esque-Rose.mp3

SWEDEN: Ja Ja JaHanna – Lioness
Hanna is Gothenburg-based Hanna Göransson, formerly known as Hanna Lovisa and one half of Cat5. As Hanna, she has teamed up with acclaimed Swedish producer Dan Lissvik (of Studio) and Canada’s Young Galaxy to record her new EP Lioness, where feisty pop á la a certain Robyn meets Lissvik’s characteristic grooves. The Lioness EP is out now via Sunshower Records and a first full-length is in the works.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/76825682/Hanna%20-%20Lioness.mp3

TURKEY: WEARTBEATSoaked – Groove On
Soaked is a synth-pop band based in Istanbul. They formed in 2003 but their first EP only came out in 2010. With the success of it they recorded the Aftermath album at the end of 2011. In their own words, they describe themselves as “not only a musical ensemble but also a creative artistic platform, determined to provide the quality performance and art that Turkish audiences crave”. It might sound pretty pretentious but it sure is true.http://k005.kiwi6.com/hotlink/u2so00116i/soaked_groove_on_turkey.mp3

they’re waking up to…

sharon van etten:
Lately, I have been obsessed with this band from Montreal called Automelodi. I work at a record label (Ba Da Bing Records) and my boss, Ben, is constantly getting new records in. He knows I have a soft spot for 80s/90s post punk/early electro, vaguely alternative music... and so one day, he put on a Wierd Records compilation. It was a vinyl set of like 4 pieces or something. There were so many good bands on there... however, Automelodi stuck out in my mind as being an authentic, genuine, NON-cheesy version of the 80s I wish I was a part of. The song in particular that gets me going in the morning is called "Schéma Corporel".
mp3: automelodi - schéma corporel

bani haykal from b-quartet:
often enough, it’s the early morning rush which gets me excited about shutting my eyes. and by morning, we’re looking at the 4 a.m. time frame where all you hear is yourself in a foggy blur, thinking if sleep is really all that important because the early few are storming off for work. in all honesty, there is no ipod nor a single earplugging devicetron which i’d attend to. often enough, it’s someone else’s sonic leak i’m getting addressed by. but, i’m listening to Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters”. in my head, at least. sanity ‘from the point of no return’, personally. it’s a breath of fresh air. despite its age. everything is beautiful then.
mp3: steely dan - babylon sisters

naomi yang from galaxie 500:
The perfect song to start the day is “A Tonga Da Mironga Do Kabuleté” – the live recording from 1971 by Brazilian artists Vinícius + Bethania + Toquinho. It is like a beautiful sunrise – although I think that the lyrics are actually some sort of political commentary disguised as a Candomble/Afro-Brazilian curse – but whatever! And then you should just leave the CD on, and listen to the rest of the album while you have your coffee. And you will have a great day.
mp3: vinícius + bethania + toquinho – a tonga da mironga do kabuletê (live in buenos aires, 1971)

jamie stewart from xiu xiu:
i have a nico button on my guitar strap and her excess eyeliner has been burning the dirge "janitor of lunacy" into my waking ears as of late, at least 20 times in the last week. until yesterday we have been on tour in scandinavia, russia, poland, austria, germany and czech. these grey locations held hands with her harmonium perfectly.
mp3: nico - janitor of lunacy

justin ringle from horse feathers:
i have been obsessively listening and waking up to this tune by gillian welch called "annabelle". it's a song about a sharecropper in alabama and it is so sad, beautiful and timeless that I can't help but listen more than once in a row. the harmonies in the chorus make my hairs stand up... beautiful song.
mp3: gillian welch - annabelle

tracyanne campbell from camera obscura:
my favourite song at the moment is called 'one in a million' by steve miller. it's really beautiful. his voice is like honey in the sun and it totally melts my heart. the lyrics are quite simple and i guess
corny but it's a great tune and the production is so good it really doesn't matter. i wish i'd written it. in fact i'd love to do a cover version of it. i was recently in stockholm visiting my friend victoria (bergsman) from taken by trees and we were singing it in the flat and talked about recording it. watch this space...
mp3: steve miller band - one in a million

stuart murdoch from belle and sebastian:
every day when i leave the house and walk over the iron bridge and up to the glasshouses, i listen to “what for” by james. i have a habit of dropping back 20 years in my thoughts, and having a parallel soundtrack running in my head so that i may be walking in a street in 2008, but my head is in 1988. i don’t know why that is. this is an up and hopeful song of the period from a band i used to care for deeply.
as we slip into the autumn here, i am prepared to let my new song of obsession become “the game” by echo and the bunnymen.
“everybody’s got their own good reason why their favourite season is their favourite season”.
mp3: james - what formp3: echo and the bunnymen - the game

alison eales from butcher boy:
I'm waking up to Labi Siffre, and wondering how I managed to stay asleep for so long. His songs are diverse, unpretentious, and performed with tangible joy. I'm literally waking up to him as well - I have 'It Must Be Love' set as my alarm, and it is proving to be a very nutritious musical breakfast.
mp3: labi siffre - it must be love

who we are

dan
i love music, but i can't play it for the life of me, so i might as well try writing instead. hope you like it. i'm from singapore, where there really is good music if you look hard enough. i'd love to hear from you (yes, you): theskinnyfists@yahoo.com.sg

brian
I'm a four stringing minstrel of doom, and hired gun for the odd band or two. Few things excite me more than music, and whiskey soaked vocals are a definite plus, so please be sure to send some my way. When I'm not contributing to I'm Waking Up To and MAP, you should follow my misadventures at http://litford.wordpress.com And yes! I'd love to hear from you too: litford@gmail.com
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